Category: Tot School

Creating Alligator Skin

leslie March 24, 2017 0 Comments
We are still hanging out at the pond and having so much fun.  I am definitely behind in my blogging, but I have been having so much fun with my girl.  Today during our Mother Goose Time (MGT), I gave her a choice between studying fish, ducks, or alligators.  She chose the ALLIGATOR and today Sweet Pea created a picture of ALLIGATOR SKIN!I can not recommend Mother Goose Time highly...

Creating Cattails

leslie March 16, 2017 0 Comments
We've had so much fun learning all about the Pond in our newest unit study!Unfortunately Sweet Pea had the flu, so we haven't had many outdoor adventures to the local pond; however she did make her own picture of cattails at a pond the other day and had fun even with the flu.Mother Goose Time supplied us with sticks, green paper, and the blue sheet along with the inspiration photo of cattails....

Tot School: Play-based Assessment

leslie February 25, 2017 2 Comments
Assessment.That word used to give me the heeby-jeebies when I taught public school.Now assessment means something totally different.Play-based and present observation.When I assess Sweet Pea and whether or not she knows a skill, I just observe her playing.  Playing! As a former public educator, playing in the classroom is not something incorporated into curriculum or worksheets....

Tot School: Valentine’s Day

leslie February 20, 2017 0 Comments
Valentine's Day is such a fun day to celebrate with kids!My husband and I don't celebrate Valentine's Day at all, which is fine by me;however, I do want Sweet Pea to know what the day is about and why.I still want to make it special for her, but I didn't want to spend money. My desire was to spend some really good quality time talking and making things special for our Love day.Mother Goose Time...

MGT: Manipulative Monday Giveaway!

leslie February 13, 2017 0 Comments
Are you ready for a giveaway?There's a million great things about Mother Goose Time, but one of our top 5 things we love is the new manipulatives we get each month.  Manipulatives are hands-on objects children use to work out problems.  They manipulate objects to learn. Mother Goose Time sends us 2 new sets of manipulatives each month. One set is usually some kind of counter or...

1, 2 Buckle My Shoe

leslie February 11, 2017 0 Comments
1, 2 Buckle my shoe3,4 Shut the door5,6 Pick up sticks7,8 Lay them straight9,10 Do it again!We are absolutely LOVING this month's Nursery Rhyme Unit from Mother Goose Time!Each day we learn a new little rhyme with motions to go with it.This rhyme was on our 2nd day, but Sweet Pea keeps coming back to it- she loves to act it out. My teacher guide gave some great examples of what to do with...

Me and My Toddler’s Daily Routine

leslie January 30, 2017 0 Comments
I taught in public school for 8 years... from 3rd graders to seniors, I taught them all.  The one thing that I always pushed was a routine.  Our class period always started out the same way, whether it was a quick 5 minute sketch when I taught art, watching CNN Student News when I taught Social Studies, or doing our daily DOL (Daily Language Review, Grade 1) when I taught English, the...

Tot School: Interactive Reading

leslie January 25, 2017 0 Comments
My girl is in love with books.It goes with her quiet, contemplative, cautious personality I think.She loves to sit in laps, look at pictures, tell you about them, and snuggle with whoever she is sitting with... mostly it's me. <3 Mother Goose Time sends us a NEW BOOK each month with our monthly kit.Naturally with this month revolving around the theme of baby animals, we received a book...

Tot School: Animal Babies and Eggs

leslie January 20, 2017 0 Comments
 Egg Day continues!We just had so much fun studying animals that hatch from eggs using our Mother Goose Time materials.  I prepared a game for Sweet Pea based on "Waiting for the Hatch" game supplied in the Teacher Guide by MGT .  It consisted of cards that had an image of the animal egg and on the other side of the card was a picture of the animal that hatches from that egg....

Egg-cellent Counting!

leslie January 14, 2017 0 Comments
Disclaimer:  I taught public school for 8 years before becoming a mom. I taught a new grade or subject EVERY year.  Never the same thing twice (Jack of All Trades is the perfect name *wink)I have hoarded  collected re-purposed many of the things that I used when I taught.Hence the stash of about 100 plastic Easter eggs I have tied up in my garage.Do you have some too?  I...